


(don't)Leave Me Alone

by xfadingstarx



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Not Epilogue Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:00:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26246794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xfadingstarx/pseuds/xfadingstarx
Summary: Ulquiorra looks at Orihime in a different light and concludes that his initial thoughts about her may have been correct after all.
Relationships: Ulquiorra Cifer/Inoue Orihime
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	(don't)Leave Me Alone

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing Ulquihime. I'm super nervous. Please let me know your thoughts. 
> 
> Given that Bleach is a story about a normal highschooler and ends with him returning to that normalcy, I'm going for a revived Ulquiorra in gigai and already together with Orihime living together after the events of Bleach. I thought it would be cute to have him go through university with her. So I guess this is Normal!Ulqui X Normal!Hime?
> 
> My Tumblr is xfadingstarx.tumblr.com. I'd love to make friends who aren't my bacteria.

Ulquiorra had noticed that her gaze would shift into the faraway distance when she thought he wasn’t looking early in their acquaintance, but recently, Orihime began to withdraw with more frequency. It wasn’t even every week — but on days when he was held up at his part-time job or when it rained particularly hard, Inoue Orihime would stare into nothing outside the window, with nothing but darkness reflected in her unfocused eyes.

He wasn’t quite sure what to do when the air turned somber around her, but he’d assumed she would figure it out with herself. If she needed him to listen, she would tell him. Content with that, he tried his best to maintain distance; even so, he couldn’t help the unfamiliar twinges of worry that wormed their way into his chest every time Orihime sighed with a more regularity.

One day, Ulquiorra came home much later than usual. His study group had gone overtime because half of the group had come unprepared and a large portion of them were hungover from the night before. Not for the first time, Ulquiorra regretted promising the woman that he would tolerate his classmates. Ironically, it was this very promise to her that had kept him from her today and he was more than a little grumpy.

Babysitting humans was worse than babysitting Yammy.

Thankfully, they had managed to finish the group portion of the project and Ulquiorra was finally free to return home. With a long sigh, he dug into his messenger bag for his keys.

The lights were off, he noted and he wondered if Orihime had fallen asleep waiting for him.

“I’m home,” he announced as he opened the door. Nothing but silence greeted his ears. He moved his shoes onto the rack and slipped into house slippers that the woman insisted he wear. He turned on the light, placing his bag on the floor and hanging his coat up before searching for Orihime.

He found her dozing on the table beside the window. She had earphones in and to the front her sleeping form was her notebook and textbook. He mentally berated her for falling asleep in the living room and moved to remove the earphones from her ears. The moment that the buds came loose, the distant roar of electric guitar and the thumping of drums could be heard. He took note of the different music choice. Normally, the woman preferred the company of mellifluous string quartets. Not thinking too much into it, he reached for the phone on the table and paused the music.

He scooped her up by the knees and carried her over to the bed. As soon as he lowered her onto the mattress, she began to awaken.

“Mng… Ulquiorra?” Her voice was heavy with sleep and she groggily rubbed her eyes. “How long have you been home?”

“Just now. The table isn’t a good place to sleep.”

She replied with a noncommittal hum and a flashed him a bright smile.

“I got some studying done…” Orihime trailed off. Her gaze fell to her lap. She was unsure how to continue.

He stared at her for a second and moved to sit beside her on the bed. He lifted a cool hand to her forehead. No fever.

She paused a second and grabbed his outstretched hand in hers.

“I know it’s kind of silly, but now that I’ve started living with you, it’s harder for me to be alone. And — uh — it’s the anniversary of my brother’s death soon,” she admitted quietly, while softly tracing the ridges of the calluses on his palms. She took a second before continuing.

“Sora was fifteen years older than me. Our parents were abusive and Sora became my guardian when he turned eighteen. I loved him so much. He came to all my parent-teacher conferences and all of my parent days. Sora and I were all we had.

“When I entered middle school, we moved and the bullying I’d been experiencing only got worse. There were always tacks in my shoes and vicious notes in my cubby. In July, some girls from my class cornered me and cut my hair. I was so distraught. Sora was never home and I didn’t have anyone else to turn to.

“In September, Sora gave me these hairpins for my birthday, “ she reached up to touch her Rikka, “I was so mad. School was so painful and I needed him, but instead all I got were these childish hair clips.” Orihime bit her lip in an attempt to quell the tears that were threatening to fall. “We got into the biggest argument we’d ever had. We didn’t talk at dinner and the next day he left for work before I woke up. I never saw him again; he was hit by a car on the way home.”

Ulquiorra lifted her into his lap and pressed her head to his chest. Orihime pressed her body close to his.

“Years later, when I was fifteen — my first year of high school — Sora became a hollow and attacked me. He was so lonely. There was so much pain and suffering. I felt like I'd failed as his sister. Thankfully, Kurosaki-san and Kuchiki-san helped bring his soul to peace and Sora was able to pass without his hollow mask. I was finally able to say, 'good-bye',” Orihime sniffled as her tears leaked down the sides of her face in giant blobs.

Ulquiorra internally grimaced at the mention of Kurosaki Ichigo. Even if they were on amicable terms now, Ulquiorra still disliked the thought of his woman being saved by the object of her teenage affections.

Orihime moved to wipe her tears with the back of her hands. "Even though I know that his heart is with me, I still can't help but be sad." Fresh tears sprung to her eyes and she tried her hardest to sniff them back.

She looked up at Ulquiorra. "Promise you won’t ever leave me, ‘kay?”

Ulquiorra placed a light kiss on Orihime’s forehead. “Foolish woman, you are the reason for my existence.”

“It’s not woman. It's ‘Orihime’. O–ri–hi–me.” She pouted.

Ulquiorra silenced her disagreements with a kiss and she quickly melted into his arms. 

* * *

Later Ulquiorra would reflect on this moment and think that it was strange that the self-proclaimed “best friends” of Orihime, like Arisawa or Matsumoto, never noticed the sadness about Orihime or if they had noticed, they didn’t think it a major concern.

Not Ulquiorra though; he understood the sweet cloying clutches of sadness and its companions all too well. The woman was always too busy playing a cheerful klutz to appease her friends, but with him she was different. Perhaps, this too was also a part of the heart that he had shared with her. Ulquiorra was surprised at the thought that Orihime, too, understood the comforts of the void. Though to him, this made her shine even brighter. Ulquiorra was constantly fascinated by her brilliance despite the bits of darkness that they shared. 

* * *

He would catch her gaze shift as she was in the middle of her thoughts. She would flash him a quick smile and reach for his hand to squeeze it tightly.

_There is nothing, neither in you nor in me¹_

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. This is a translated quote from the last page Ulquiorra's Unmasked story. It never got an official English translation so this is the best I could do with the French one. If you're interested in it I think fan translations are widely available with a quick Google. 
> 
> The song I picture in Orihime's headphones is "Flower" by Hamasaki Ayumi. It's super cathartic. 
> 
> Video: https://vimeo.com/282594352
> 
> Lol at Ulquiorra checking her temperature first when trying to understand what's wrong. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
